Friday, August 14, 2009

Around the World: Korea

Traditional Korean meals feature a wide assortment of panchan, or side dishes, surrounding a main dish of rice or noodles. Diners choose from the many panchan, adding a bit of something spicy to one bite of rice, a bit of something crunchy to the next, and so on.

My Korean lunch box includes (in the bottom container) Beansprout Salad, kimchi, and Stir-Fried Watercress with three purple plums nestled in between; (top container) Korean Dipping Sauce with vegan meatballs on food picks ready for dipping, and a large helping of Rice with Toasted Millet.

The lunch box you might recognize as a To-Go Ware tiffin and four Sidekicks. I love the way three Sidekicks fit together in the tiffin, making it perfect for panchan.

By the way, this picture was taken in the middle of my strawberry patch!

11 comments:

Jennifer, I'm looking for a lunch box set for my kids that does everything;) keep hot food hot till lunch and some cold food too and room for a drink container. Is there on that fits these requirements out there? I thought of all people you would know. While I'm at it I love your recipes, bought the Vegetarian Times just because your food was on the cover. The recipes were a big hit at the picnic I attended!Thanks

Hello. Jennifer.I just got Vegan Lunchbox Around the World from Amazon, so while I haven't yet cooked anything with it, I think it is amazing. My daughter has been bored with the foods we usually eat, and I have been wanting to branch out to different ethnic cuisines. I have been interested in making my own pita bread and burger buns, so that will come in real handy.We have a list of recipes to try for next week.

I just wanted to say that although I don't know you, Thank You". Your blog and cookbooks have made it easier for me to feed my family. You've saved us hours of frustration trying to figure out what to feed a toddler or how to veganize recipes so they actually come out tasty. So thank you so much again.

Hi! I found your blog accidentally one day and I have it linked to mine. I'm a vegetarian living in Korea at the moment and I was delighted to see a vegan take on Korean cuisine. I can think of some more traditional Korean foods that are also vegan, but what you came up with sounds delicious.

Finding vegetarian foods in Korea can be a bit tricky, but Korean food is amazing!!!! Everytime I try something new, I'm delighted. Much of it is not vegan (I've been vegetarian for 10 years and have decided to hold off on the vegan conversion until I return State-side), but I'm always happy with the food here.

I really love your blog and I look forward to trying some of your recipes when I return to the States. I also want to say that I fully intend to raise my future children vegan from the time they're conceived, and it's really nice to have such a handy resource for delicious, kid-friendly and, most importantly, nutritious foods! I feel more ready than ever to become a vegan mom!

>>Jennifer, I'm looking for a lunch box set for my kids that does everything;) keep hot food hot till lunch and some cold food too and room for a drink container. Is there on that fits these requirements out there? I thought of all people you would know.

I would recommend two pieces: an insulated food jar (thermos) for the foods you want to keep hot, and a separate box with room for a cold drink and an ice pack to keep the rest cold. Good luck!